Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on… The post Finding Great Honor Names for Andrew – No Juniors! appeared first on Appellation Mountain ..read more

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! LOOKING FOR BOLD MIDDLE NAMES Kaylee writes: We named our daughter Anna Wildflower. Anna because it’s a classic name with lots of meaning for my husband and I. Wildflower because we couldn’t agree on anything more traditional and finally decided to choose something we loved, even if it was a little crazy. Yes, we got Wildflower f ..read more

First up: my calendar is updated for calls through the middle of August. Whether you’re looking for help brainstorming new names, evaluating your current favorites, or just need a neutral ear, I’d love to talk over your options. Schedule here. Now on to the names in the news for the week of 7.21.24! STELLA I’m loving the chance up update old Names of the Day and feature them on Patreon. Join AM Baby Names for free here to read my thoughts on ever-stylish Sella … and catch up on all of them … there are 77 and counting! ABNER I was just thinking about grandpa names and all the good reasons to ch ..read more

We’re made it to the very last round! It’s time to vote for in the final match-up for this summer’s New Names Showdown. Let’s back for up a minute. Every year, the US Social Security Administration releases an updated list of the 1,000 most popular names in the country for boys and girls. It’s based on births the prior calendar year. Inevitably, some of those 1,000 names are brand new, while others are returning to the list for the first time after a long absence. From the new (and returning) names, I choose eight. There’s no hard-and-fast rule about which names to choose, but the goal is to f ..read more

July is flying by! We’re already at the big moment: the final girls’ match in the annual New Names Showdown. If you’re new here, let’s catch up. (Almost) every May, the US Social Security Administration releases the updated list of the 1,000 most popular names for children born during the prior calendar year. Inevitably, some names fall out of the rankings. Others return, and some debut for the very first time. From this list of newcomers, I pick eight that seem interesting. Sometimes they’re names we love that have been catching on for ages and finally rank. Others represent a new trend, an i ..read more

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! Would you like your very own #namehelp post, but don’t want to share your question with the world? Order one here. THEY’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO CHOOSE Mae writes: We have a toddler named Luna Elliette. I love everything about her name and will freely admit that I obsessed over choosing it from the minute we decided to start a f ..read more

Names ending with AI are having a moment. First came Kai. The brief, complete name means ocean in Hawaiian. It’s rocketed up the popularity charts, a fresh possibility that falls somewhere between traditional Jack and newer names like Beau. Maybe the most interesting part of names ending with AI? They’re not specific to any language. Kai is Hawaiian – but also has roots in plenty of other languages, making it effortlessly international. Lately, baby name trends seem to favor even more choices ending with -ai, from popular names like Kai to well-why-not possibilities like Kenai and Alizai. Name ..read more

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! THEY LOVE SIMPLE, TIMELESS NAMES Kacie writes: I’ve always disliked my name. It’s trendy and cute and you can guess my age within a few years. So when my husband and I welcomed our daughter I wanted a name that was classic, simple, strong. Our list was Anne, Kate, and Rose, and we thought she looked most like an Anne. We are now ..read more

To all those who celebrate, Happy Shark Week! Okay, actually Discovery just wrapped Shark Week 2024. I didn’t watch it … but we did watch the original Jaws, circa 1975, last weekend. Things that have not aged well: smoking. Gender stereotypes. Shark knowledge, in general. We know lots more now that we did back then. And – technology! Imagine that whole shark-attacks-crowded-beach scene today. Queue dozens of viral videos, the town made infamous in milliseconds. What has absolutely stood the test of time? The broad outlines of the story, complete with a menacing, seldom-seen shark. (Speaking of ..read more

The opening round went by with a woosh! From the names that debuted or returned to the girls’ US Top 1000 in May of this year, we’ve narrowed our list to just four candidates. These names will compete in the semifinals. But first, let’s recap the action so far. GIRLS OPENING ROUND RESULTS With just over 86% of the tally, Seraphina trounced Dania to advance. Seraphina has been an up-and-comer for years, so this isn’t a huge surprise. On a similar note, Winifred captured nearly 82% of the total against Ainara. Winifred, led by retro nickname Winnie, has been a fan favorite, so it’s easy to imagi ..read more